Step 12: The Code

Step 13: The Video

The Video of Operation in action..

As a child I loved the Milton Bradley Operation game, the buzzer always scared me when it went off, but it was fun. The object of the Operation game is to remove a body part with out touching the tweezers to the metal sides that surround the object for removal. If you touch any metal sides you make his nose light up and a buzzer will sound and startle you. This year the Church I attend was having a new Harvest Festival or Halloween function this year called Trunk O Treat. Truck O Treat is where you play a game or activity out the trunk of your car. For my life size Operation game I would put candy in the pockets for the kids to pick out with salad tongs and put a Bible Armor of God theme for the pockets. I used a microcontroller to detect when the tongs come in contact with the metal sides and flash the red nose and make the buzzer sound.

Step 1: The Picture

To build the life size over 5ft tall game board. I took a digital picture of the original Operation game board and in a photo shop edited the picture to add clipart and removed the yellow background to save on printer ink. The picture is glued down on cardboard front and a wood frame is made to give it a structure. I printed out the picture on banner paper to make it easier to assemble it in strips. The picture is overlapped about half inch when printed out so you can align and glued down the image. I taped together two the cardboard project display boards with a white background. I used the display boards from Michaels Crafts and there size is 36in wide by 48in long. To glue down the picture I used 3M Supper# 77 spray glue to adherer the picture (banner paper) to the cardboard and trimmed the cardboard to size. The finished Operation board size was 34in wide by 62in long and 4in thick.

Hi, I love love this idea. We are going to use it for a display table for the fair. However, we do not need to light up each individual box as it is during the day. Is there anyway to make the electricty simpler? Honestly, it is all greek to me. I understand how a simple circuit works but this blows my mind!

Hello, I would like to ask how was it received at your event. I would like to use it at a health fair to promote organ donation and awareness. I would like to talk with those who have made the model and the reaction from the audience. Thank you.

It seems like you have a very powerful microcontroller doing very little. You could program the PIC to blink the nose, and make the buzzing sound through a regular speaker, in which case you can alter it to make a variety of sounds. Since you have each area connected to a unique pin, you can have it make different sounds for each area.

Hi There! I was wondering if you would be open to renting this game out. I am planning a fundraising event and am looking for life size game. Only a few people would be chosen to play the game. Just curious where you are located. I am in Northwest Illinois.